Past Crew Members

Team Member from March 15, 2007 to May 27, 2007
People call me Caki (Khaki), which is a nickname that my family donned on me as wee lass, short for Catherine. I grew up south of Denver, Colorado with an active imagination and energy to match. Playing down at the creek with the neighborhood boys we would go on make believe safaris and act out wild adventures of traveling to far off places. As I am now an adult and able to embark on these journeys in reality, I have decided to join the two Steves in Australia. 

My travels are limited in life so far. I have made a short trip to Puerto Vallarta to enjoy the beaches and play in the jungles there, a beautiful resort town near the bottom of the Baja Peninsula. I have also spent one high school spring break in the Cayman Islands with friends and family, but these nice little vacations hardly count as traveling. Last summer I worked on Rock in Rio-Lisbon as part of the marketing team. That was three glorious weeks of trying to speak and translate Portuguese...not the easiest language to understand. Although a very enlightening and enjoyable trip, it was mostly about the enjoyment of good tunes and delicious feasts in the old part of the city. 

Growing up, my first celebrity crush was on ol' Croc Dundee, so what better time to choose to join Shoppman and Bouey on their round the world expedition. When the idea for this trip was hatched, I never thought it would turn into an awesome reality. I pretty much figured that these boys were all talk and no action (actually that was more of a hope, I really didn't want my buddies to leave). As it turned out I was in denial, and as I watched them take off in the Toyotas I mentally bought a ticket right then and there. Who wouldn't want to be a part of something so ridiculously cool?

Team Member from March 15, 2007 to May 18, 2007
I've always been interested in seeking out what adventure life has to offer. Whether it was bungy jumping in Mexico, caving, driving dinosaur bones across the country, or hiking through the woods, I always want to spend time outside participating in some new adventure.

My geology major from Macalester College allowed me to better understand my surroundings while discovering the range of fun and engaging environments the world has to offer.  I used crampons to climb steep ice faces with gps equipment on a glacier in British Colombia and used scuba to explore the depths of the St. Croix river. These research opportunities along with my other travels to Ghana and Mexico, have created a strong desire to more fully explore the world around me.

Macalester is in Minnesota and I was born and raised in Wisconsin. Although I would highly recommend these states, this leaves a large part of the rest of the world for me to explore. As a recent graduate, I feel it is the best time to seek out the adventure of a lifetime! Now is the time to gain a more holistic perspective of where I fit and who I want to be. Traveling with The World by Road will grant me the opportunity to see the gamet of what a country has to offer. I feel this is always more than you tend to catch in your typical tourist treks. I am excited to witness the spectacular array of natural and cultural diversity that can be found throughout the world. Through exchanges with those back home and people I meet along the way, I hope to engage in mutual exchanges of knowledge and experience that will inspire everyone to venture forth and enrich the lives of themselves and those around them.

Team Member from March 5, 2007 to April 13, 2007
Originally I’m a small town farm boy with a love of the sea. In my early twenties I started scuba diving. At the time I was working as an auto mechanic. In my mid twenties I realized diving could be a fun profession, which lead me to the Caribbean to work in the recreational diving industry as a divemaster and an instructor. After a couple of years I worked my way to a position as a boat Captain.

My interest in commercial diving and emergency medical training progressed into further education at the College of Oceaneering in California. After graduating I worked as a medic and hyperbaric chamber technician. I enjoyed my time in the medical field, but the sea was calling me back. After my additional offshore medical training and an upgrade of my captain's liscense, I have spent the last 5 years as a captain of various vessels around the Caribbean, Bahamas, and the Gulf of Mexico.

Travel has been an important part of my life for many years both personally and professionally. Almost all of the money I make is spent on either school or travel. Although I would not trade these expeiences for anything, I have realized travel in itself is a form of self gratification. I feel that it is important to not only have these experiences for myself, but share them as much as I can. The ideals of this expedition inspire me because it is an effort to bring joy, understanding, and encouragement not only those less fortunate, but to those who don’t realize how fortunate they are.

As a supporting member of the team, my focus is the humanitarian aspect of the trip. However I feel I can be valuable to many other aspects of the expedition.
Team Member from March 17, 2007 to April 13, 2007
I was born and raised in East Brunswick, NJ but left home as soon as I was 18 and it seems like I've been moving ever since. I have resided in 9 states in less than 10 years and have traveled extensively through the US, east Africa, Europe and Costa Rica.

My love for far away places and different cultures led me to a degree in Photojournalism from California State University, Fullerton. After graduating in 2002 I worked as a photographer for several newspapers throughout the country and worked freelance in east Africa with the New York based photo agency, World Picture News. My work has been published both nationally and internationally and can be viewed at www.kiraimages.com.

I am a competitive runner and triathlete and I love snowboarding, surfing and any other sport that get's your adrenaline pumping. Being outdoors, exposing myself to different experiences and meeting new people is what puts a smile on my face and I feel truly blessed to become a part of this expedition. I believe that my participation and love for photography will contribute to the success of this journey and help achieve the trip's ultimate goal of bringing education and awareness to many cultures including our own.

Team Member from April 6, 2007 to June 20, 2007
I grew up in a place called Florida, for some of you that might not know where that is (that’s that place where Mickey Mouse calls home) and also it’s the retirement capital of the United States. I think the reason for my undying thirst for adventure and new cultures comes from growing up in Florida where it's not necessary filled with worldly people. Everyone was white, international cuisine was Taco Bell. So before my graduation hat hit the floor I was gone and have been traveling ever since. I moved to Los Angeles “Hollywood” where I have spent the last 10 years of my life producing TV.

Traveling puts me back in that mind set as when I was a kid…. Life was full of adventure… we never looked to far to the future, we just enjoyed the present… It's a long story how I actually met the Steve's but needless to say after a few drinks I found myself quitting my job and give my stuff anyway to friends and boarding a plane bound for Australia. This trip is destined to be filled with unforgettable stories and unimaginable obstacles, so let the Journey begin!!!! 

Team Member from July 24, 2007 to August 16, 2007
The start to a travel addiction was injected into my blood in Japan.  My trip’s intention was to climb Mt. Fuji, but a monsoon’s pouring rain prevented the hike.  Backpacking through Europe solidified the addiction and boiling need to travel.  In some cities I stayed with locals at their homes and was given a completely local perspective, forever changing how I view travel.  That fall I studied a semester in a university on the outskirts of London and fell in love with immersing myself into other cultures.

Next, the burning urge to travel came into fruition with an independent study taking me to Thailand to write a paper about marketing opportunities and tourism for the country.  This experience opened up new doors to interact and see a country with a specific objective.  The 2 Steve’s contacted me on couchsurfing.com, an online network of people who host travelers.  Now I am enjoying all the adventures that the road has to offer in S.E. Asia until the end of my trip.

Back in the states, home is in Tennessee at the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  The South will always have a place in my heart.  I currently live in Boston where I’m pursuing a Masters degree in Integrated Marketing Communications at Emerson College.  Through couchsurfing, I stay plugged into the travel community and can often be found entertaining and hosting travelers.  Where my travel addiction will take me in the future is to be determined… 

Team Member from September 23, 2007 to October 20, 2007
I was born and raised outside of Charlotte, North Carolina in the small town of Harrisburg. My trip to Mexico with my parents in the third grade first attracted me to traveling.  During my sophomore year in college I studied abroad at University of Hawaii at Manoa in Honolulu, where realizing I didn’t want to be an engineer and started studying business, eventually graduating from NC State University with a BA in Marketing. 
  
After graduating a friend and I decided to travel Asia.  We spent over 6 months in China, Nepal, India, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.  While in India we volunteered at the Mother Theresa Home in Calcutta.  After returning to the U.S. I decided that I wanted to study Chinese and pursue a career in International Business focused on the Chinese market. 

From my time traveling through China I found that Kunming was the best fit for me and choose this as my initial home when first moving to China.  I started out teaching English at a few different schools and doing private tutoring.  After a few months of teaching I became the Marketing Coordinator at EF Kunming, now known as Ying Zhi Fu. Affter living in China for about 2 years, I recently started a consulting firm, Analects Consulting, focused on helping small businesses in the U.S. enter the Chinese market.  My business and new home will be in Hangzhou for the next few years while working on my business and attending graduate school.

I met Steve and Steve when they traveled through Kunming. While studying Chinese at a café, I overheard them talking about traveling through Russia.  At the time I was planning my way back to the U.S. via the Trans-Siberian Railway.  After finding out about The World by Road I decided to joining the crew was a better way to head west toward the states.

Team Member from October 18, 2007 to November 30, 2007
East Coast born and raised, I left the cozy confines of Wilmington, Delaware and headed for the hills of Virginia Tech for undergraduate study.  One degree, two careers and ten years later, I find myself a team member of The World by Road.

I must give kudos to my family for instilling an early love/hate relationship with the Griswold family road trip.  Countless hours spent on the road between Delaware and all points accessible by station wagon or airstream have cultivated an invaluable capacity to amuse myself as well as an insatiable curiosity for the world outside the window. My family too, is responsible for my love of the outdoors, prompting a move to Denver, Colorado seven years prior.  Now, between hiking, skiing, triathlon training and the like I can be found working as an EMT at Conifer Mountain Family Medicine, honing my skills through Wilderness, Swift Water and High Angle Rescue Training and working towards an advanced medical degree.

Exploration on a larger scale has always piqued my interest but until 2007 had been limited simply to the voracious consumption of books, movies and such.   Several fortuitous encounters later I entered Southeast Asia on my inaugural international experience, June found me in Kenya with Tropical Heights Institute and October, Nepal, with Himalayan Healthcare.
 
My recent travels have only increased my desire to experience the world as fully as possible, to work towards the greater good and to ultimately offer the most objective and informed opinion possible for both those at home and abroad. To that end, the opportunity to participate as a member of the ultimate road trip, The World by Road, was one I could not allow to pass me by.